


Bereft

by bayouen



Series: Love in Meaning - Etymology [2]
Category: Puyo Puyo
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 17:44:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11407377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bayouen/pseuds/bayouen
Summary: Bereft [bɪˈreft] adjective; deprived of or lacking something, especially a non-material asset.





	Bereft

**Author's Note:**

> havent posted anything in months lol
> 
> i decided to make this into a series for some reason, just pretend this is some sort of sequel to entomology somehow

 

 

It was raining. The harsh droplets rattled the petite parasol, its owner gripping the wooden handle tighter and tighter as the winds swept up the rain. Oh the winds… strong and relentless, carrying loose paper, trash, and weakened umbrellas battered from fighting the invisible tyrant.

 

Raffina kept a powerful grip on her umbrella, her knuckles tinted white. Klug followed closely behind, complaining at every step at how his satchel was getting soaked and how irresponsible Raffina was for getting it wet, disregarding the fact that he had forgotten _his_ umbrella in class and was too far away to retrieve it. Luckily for him, Amitie graciously let him share Raffina's umbrella that she herself was also sharing. Not surprisingly, Raffina was against the idea from the start.

  
  
"He forgot it in class, that's his own damn fault," yelled Raffina, "Why don't you use your umbrella, Amitie- oh wait that's right, you forgot yours too, didn't you?"

  
  
Amitie gave Raffina a sheepish smile, "Hehe, yeah," She quickly apologized, yet still asked to share with Klug.

  
  
"Sure," She said, which surprised Klug until, "That is, if he can keep up with me."

  
  
Which is why Klug, out of breath, was desperate to keep from staggering behind, unless he wanted more than just his satchel wet.

  
  
"This is… huff… ridiculous!" Klug said in -between breaths, "Just slow down a molecule, a microbe, anything!"

  
  
Amitie wondered if Raffina knew that Klug was about as helpless as a newborn puppy when it came to anything physical. When she saw her smirk, she believed she found her answer. The three walked like this for a while, Raffina in the lead, Amitie by her side as she matched her pace, and Klug, trailing with a book on his head, longing for the pink shield held by the wicked Raffina. 

  
  
"Hm?" Amitie immediately halted her walk. Raffina, surprised, hurried back to her side with Klug trailing, turning on his heel when he saw the pink salvation in his reach.

  
  
"What is it?" Raffina scoffed. "Not everyone here can dilly-dally like you, Amitie, I have somewhere to be-"

  
  
"Is that Sig?"

  
  
Raffina set her eyes towards the darkening forest.  She could barely make out a blue blur in the distance.

 

  
"That could be anything," Raffina sighed, "a bird, a blue puyo, or whatever"

  
  
Amitie wanted to believe that, but-

  
  
"It _feels_ like Sig."

  
  
"And how do you perhaps know what Sig _'feels like'_ ?" said Klug, adjusting his glasses after wiping off the rain with the ends of his shirt. It was still smudged.

  
  
"It's... you know!" They didn't.

  
  
In fact, Amitie wasn't really sure how she knew.

 

But she did.

  
  
She was always aware of Sig's presence, whether he was in earshot or not. It was like a smell, the fragrance of the forest, the wet trees, lavender, an itchy feeling of pollen, and heat.

  
  
A strong, burning heat.

  
  
Earlier today, Sig seemed to disappear from their classroom until Amitie (somehow) figured he would be in the broom closet that she had dubbed “The Closet with the Very Scary Broom Spider” (Sig mentioned its name once, but, like all his bug names, it was really long so she quickly forgot it). Klug, the magical disprover of magic, called farce on the ordeal.

 

"Well if he always goes there, of course you would think he's there."

  
  
"No," Amitie said, "It's more than that, it's-"

  
  
Sig then appeared next to Amitie with said spider.

  
  
Which caused her to scream.

  
  
And that was that.

 

Well not quite.

 

That moment bothered Amitie, as if it was a lingering itch that crawled through her body. She didn’t want to admit it, but she knew there was something off about Sig.

 

This feeling she had, the feeling of just… _knowing_ Sig is here.

 

What was that feeling?

 

“But… I know it's Sig!” Amitie continued to plead, inching closer to the forest.

 

“Amitie!” Raffina yelled, “There is _no_ way I'm going in there.”

 

Her foot found itself momentarily stuck at the forest entrance, resurfacing with a light layer of mud on bottom.

 

“It's covered in mud! It’s disgusting-”

 

“I’ll go, go on without me” Amitie stated, running ahead.

 

“WAIT!” Raffina screamed. “Are you an idiot?! You’ll get wet!”

 

“Huh?” Amitie walked back a bit and saw Raffina digging in her backpack. She pulled out a bright pink parasol and presented it to Amitie.

 

“Here, and don't you _dare_ lose it, or else.”

 

“Aww, gee, thanks, Raffina” Amitie said with a smile. She skipped towards Raffina to embrace her before Raffina immediately pulled back in disgust.

 

“N-Not when you're covered in mud, birdbrain!”

 

“Oh, oops!”

 

And Amitie was off, heading deep into the drenched forest. Klug, who’d been quiet up until now, turned to Raffina with a scowl.

 

“Oh, so _she_ gets another umbrella and _I_ had to get a workout?!”

 

Raffina only scoffed and turned her back towards the young mage. Raffina suddenly began to sprint off, leaving Klug flabbergasted.

 

“WHAT?! That’s not faiiiiiiir!!” yelled Klug, running behind. Their voices became more distant as Amitie trudged through the forest.

 

Amitie ran for a while but still found no sign of Sig.

 

 _That's impossible_ , she thought, _I definitely saw him there._

 

She could still feel the demon child somehow. The air had a fresh scent and her body felt warm. Something inside her was screaming at her that he was here.

 

He was here.

 

It had always been more than a feeling.

 

It was an inclination, something that flowed through her like a second sense, something that was part of her without really being there.

 

She could feel Sig.

 

It had always been this way, since the day they met.

 

“It feels like deja vu...” Amitie pondered. Hadn’t she met Sig like this before?

 

After what felt like hours of running, she found Sig hunched over by a humongous tree root. The tree attached to it did little to protect Sig from the pouring rain above. Amitie saw that his clothes were almost thoroughly soaked, the ends pouring water like a stream. How long had he been out here?!

 

Now filled with worry, Amitie rushed over and opened the pink parasol over Sig’s head, shielding him from the currents above.

 

“There! Doesn't that feel a bit better, Sig?” Amitie asked with a smile.

 

No response.

 

Amitie crouched down next to Sig.

 

“Hey, let's get out of this rain,” Amitie said warmly.

 

No response.

 

Amitie was even more worried than before.

 

“...Sig?”

 

Still no response.

 

She eyed Sig desperately to see if anything was wrong.

 

He looked as vacant as usual so-

 

... No?

 

No, not as vacant, even more vacant, a frighteningly emotionless, hollow being.

 

That’s... not Sig?

 

She looked at his hands and noticed something.

 

A bug.

 

She was about to scream when she looked again and noticed something else.

 

It was dead.

 

Oh.

 

“Sig?” Amitie whispered.

 

No response.

 

“Sig?” She shook him slightly, calling his name.

 

No response.

 

She shook harder, said his name louder, almost like a scream.

 

No response.

 

This wasn't Sig.

 

He was less than emotional, yes, but never like this.

 

It was as if all time had stopped for Sig, as if he was lost in another world far away, lost in the very forest they stood.

 

No, please.

 

“Sig, please… Sig…”

 

Amitie kept trying, shaking him, hugging him, but he was a cold as a corpse. Amitie felt her cheeks getting wet. Was it from the rain?

 

Oh, she's crying.

 

No, Amitie is sobbing.

 

“S-Sig… please?”

 

Amitie tries to understand Sig. He wasn't an emotional person, but that was fine for her. Sig was a weirdo even to the group of weirdos she called her friends.

 

But it was Ok, because Sig never felt like an outcast.

 

At least Amitie hoped he didn't.

 

She would always answer exuberantly any inquiries he had. What was happiness? What was hunger? I don't understand this feeling, what is it?

 

Amitie was always glad to answer him, even if she didn't know the answer, she would still try to give one.

 

There's nothing she wants more than to see her friends happy.

 

But if they were like this…

 

What could Amitie do?

 

She had limits, and this could be one of them.

 

But Sig…

 

She can’t…

 

She would never just abandon Sig.

 

Amitie tried reaching out to Sig one last time. She tried to hold his hand (the not demonic one) for reassurance, for warmth, for something!

 

Then her wrist began to burn.

 

What?

 

“AHH!” Amitie recoiled back, almost landing in a pool of mud. Her umbrella, unfortunately, didn't come out unscathed.

 

Too bad, she owes Raffina another one now.

 

Amitie flinched as she felt the rain hit her hand. She held up her wrist and saw a small ring around it. It was a deep red discoloration, blackening at a second glance.

 

It was burnt.

 

How did that happen?!

 

She looked towards Sig’s hand (the demonic one) and noticed how bright red it became, as if she could feel the heat radiating off of it.

 

Oh…

 

Amitie froze and realization struck her.

 

She them looked towards Sig and noticed-

 

Oh.

 

Amitie turned away, gripping her wrist in shame. If she wasn’t shaken before she was now.

 

Amitie did everything she could to bring out emotion in Sig and was always happy to see it, no matter how little.

 

But this…

 

Amitie would rather spend the rest of her time on earth with Sig having no emotion at all than ever see that look of horror on his face again.

 

She didn't want this.

 

_She didn't want this._

 

She would NEVER want this!

 

“S-Sig…?” Amitie said weakly, close to sobbing again.

 

Sig sunk closer towards the tree root, ignoring Amitie’s presence all together.. He was shaking. Was he cold, or-

 

Sig sneezed.

 

Ok, he was cold.

 

“Sig, are you alright?” Amitie asked, already aware of the answer.

 

Sig shook his head. She sighed and tried to inch closer to the boy. When she saw Sig curling in further she retreated away. Her heart couldn’t stop feeling like sharp needles were pricking it softly. Her hand grasped the pink parasol that laid forgotten in the mud. With a quick shake Amitie cleaned it of gunk and raised it above their heads.

 

“Sig.” She began, hoping to gain his attention. Amitie winced at the sound of her pained voice. It felt strange, like her voice wasn’t hers anymore.

 

“Can you tell me what happened?” Amitie asked as calmly as she could.

 

Sig shook his head.

 

“You don't have to tell me.”

 

Sig shook his head.

 

Amitie was concerned until she heard a faint voice, a whisper in the wind.

 

“M-..magicicada...”

 

“A what… Oh, is that a bug nam-”

 

“It's dead…”

 

Oh.

 

“I'm sorry, Sig.” Her voice was empathetic. She tried to inch closer to him again and was relieved to see Sig accepting her advances.

 

“Sig, I… I know it’s hard to see this stuff, because life is suppose to be so... lively.” Amitie sighed, “I know it’s not the best thing to say, but sometimes bugs die-”

 

“No.”

 

“No?”

 

“I killed it.”

 

Oh…

 

A dark and heavy air loomed over them.

 

This was what had upset Sig so badly.

 

“Sig-”

 

“I killed it... I killed it...” Sig repeated quietly. His voice was cracking.

 

What should Amitie do?

 

She didn't understand what to do. How can Amitie make Sig happy? How can she tell him everything was going to be okay? She didn't even know if things would be okay.

 

“How did it happen?” Amitie repeated, softer this time. Sig remained quiet for what seemed like an eternity until he suddenly lifted his hands, watching as the rain created puddles in them.

 

“I tried to grab…protect rain... wrong hand… burn.” Sig spoke slow and quiet, Amitie strained to hear his words.

 

“You… tried to protect it from the rain, grabbed it with the wrong hand? And…?” Amitie tried repeating his words with more clarity, but for some reason feared finishing her sentence.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Sig.” Amitie called out to him, stronger than she had before.

 

Sig finally turned his head towards Amitie. She saw the sunken look in his eyes and swallowed hard. She was afraid.

 

She didn’t want to be afraid of Sig, he was one of her closest friends.

 

She can’t even bare the thought.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Amitie began, “Sig, I… I know you didn’t want to hurt the bug-”

 

“But I did.”

 

“Yeah, but-”

 

“I hurt it.”

 

“You love bugs more than anything, you would never want to hurt one-”

 

“But I did.”

 

“Sig… “

 

“I hurt it.”

 

Amitie sighed.

 

She was afraid. She was afraid of not being able to help Sig. She was afraid of being useless the one time when her friend needed her most. She was afraid of failing him.

 

There’s only so much cheerfulness can do.

 

They sat in silence for a while before Amitie spoke up again.

 

“Sig, I know you hurt the bug, and it hurts,” She said, gripping the parasol harder during a sudden gust of wind.

 

“Sometimes things die and you can’t do anything about it and it hurts,” Amitie let in a deep breath and continued, “but what hurts more is blaming yourself for things you can’t control.”

 

Sig nodded slowly.

 

“You didn’t want to hurt the bug and you had no way of knowing this would happen, Sig.”

 

“But-”

 

“But you have a big heart and love every bug that walks on this planet right?”

 

Sig nodded again.

 

“Sometimes we also hurt others without meaning to, and sometimes being sad over it isn’t enough.”

 

Sig looked towards the dead bug and sighed.

 

“What do I do then?”

 

“You… “

 

Amitie paused.

 

She had no idea.

 

“I… don’t really know. I’m sorry, Sig, I know you want a better answer but…  sometimes there aren’t any answers.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“However,” Amitie smiled at Sig, her eyes shined in the dark, “I think the first thing we should do is get out of the rain, Ok?”

 

Sig glanced at the bug then back to Amitie.

 

“We’ll take the bug too, maybe we can… give him a proper burial or something.”

 

She saw Sig’s face light up for a split second before it was replaced with his usual blank stare.

 

“Okay.”

 

Sig finally rose to his feet. Amitie did the same, holding the parasol between them like a divider. They walked out of the forest together towards Amitie’s lodging to dry off. They walked in an uncomfortable silence, with only the sound of the wind between them.

 

Once the rain died down, the two found themselves at the same clearing they stood together before. The ground was drenched with rain, the leaves above showered them with leftover droplets. Sig carried a wrapped bundle of leaves in his hands and Amitie held an old spoon. They sat in front of the large tree trunk, eyeing each other unsure of what to do next. Amitie then stuck the spoon in the soften ground, sifting it until a small hole laid beside the stump. Sig then placed the makeshift casket inside the hole as Amitie covered it with wet dirt and more crumpled leaves.

 

When that was done, the pair stood in silence once again for what seemed like ages.

 

“So… I’ll say a few words?” Amitie asked.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Here lies a… ma..machadem… macaholy-”

 

“Magicicada.”

 

“Yeah, that. A very… good bug I think-”

 

“They spend most of their 17-year lives underground feeding on xylem fluids from the roots of forest trees.”

 

“Oh… well, yeah that too.”

 

They clasped their hands in prayer as they let quiet take over. Whey they were done, the two rose from the ground and began walking out the forest.

 

“Amitie.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“What happens when you die?”

 

Amitie halted and stared at Sig.

 

“I… don’t know.”

 

How could she answer that?

 

“Oh.” She heard Sig say.

 

Death was the farthest thing from her mind and she would prefer it to stay that way. However, she didn’t want to abandon Sig’s question again.

 

“I’m sorry Sig, I can’t really answer any of your questions this time.” Amitie said downhearted.

 

“Amitie.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Amitie flushed, “I-It’s nothing!”

 

Sig eyed her strangely before she smiled and said, “It’s frustrating when you want to say something and you… I don’t know, you just don’t know what to say, you know?”

 

Amitie giggled, “Though that sounded pretty confusing too, don’t ya think?”

 

“Amitie.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“It’s okay. You being here helped me a lot.”

 

Amitie was taken aback. That was a pretty honest confession! She felt herself blush a bit.

 

“So you don’t have to be sad, Amitie.”

 

Wait, _her_ sad? Wasn’t _she_ suppose to help Sig?

 

“Oh uh… alright.” Amitie felt awkwardness creep up on her.

 

The sky began to dull as the sun fell, letting cascades of pink and yellow paint the landscape. Amitie stared at the sky with a smile.

 

“Well… if anything, I truly believe that even when we die, things are gonna be okay.”

 

Sig cocked his head as she continued, “It may be just something to help us feel better, but I think even in death, the bug is at peace.”

 

Amitie’s gaze fell to the ground.

 

“Just look at the grass and dirt and stuff! When things die, they become the ground and grow beautiful flowers and trees! It’s probably dumb, but it’s like a smile from the afterlife you know?”

 

Amitie smiled and when she looked at Sig, she noticed he was smiling back at her.

 

She never saw Sig smile like that before.

 

Her heart nearly skipped a beat.

 

“Thank you, Amitie.”

 

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her frame. She could smell the lingering scent of the forest, a hint of lavender, and pollen. She could feel a warmth pooling around her.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Amitie was still for a moment, mostly because Sig was actually hugging her.

 

As in he initiated the hug.

 

Amitie was glad that Sig doesn’t notice how red her face was getting.

 

Afterwards, she eagerly reciprocated the hug. It felt nice.

 

It felt warm.

 Amitie loved this warmth.

 

It as then that Amitie decided that she loved this warmth as much as she loved Sig.

 

 


End file.
